


you are always here with me

by reginaswanmills



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reginaswanmills/pseuds/reginaswanmills
Summary: regina is emma’s best friend until she’s not. until she realizes they might be a little more than best friends.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	you are always here with me

**Author's Note:**

> heyo, do you all use ‘rich text’ or ‘HTML’ when writing on here? i’ve been using HTML, but my spacing is really off, and i’m currently struggling with writing styles and formats as of late. rich text allows me to use italics and put the actual spacing to separate sections of the chapters, instead of just using the plus sign. but it’s also really hard for me to navigate, as it’s new and very different. just let me know in the comments what you all use or recommend? 
> 
> alternate season 5; robin and regina fell out of love. dark swan and merlin never happened. no trips to the underworld. hook sailed away once he saw how obvious emma’s love was for regina. robin stayed with zelena for their unborn daughter, and they’re working through some issues in here. roland is eight, henry is fifteen, and neal is two. 
> 
> regina is still the mayor. emma is still the sheriff. 
> 
> meme time — 
> 
> emma @ regina : if you were my best friend, i’d want you around all the time :) 
> 
> regina @ emma : you’d get tired of my self-loathing and deep rooted depression. 
> 
> emma @ regina : just let me love youuu

Regina is Emma’s best friend. Emma tells her proudly so with a giggly smile and in between hiccups, after one too many glasses of hard apple cider; and Regina nods, smiles one of those genuine smiles reserved for Henry and his blonde mother, and tells Emma that she is very fond of her as well. 

Emma doesn’t outwardly say Regina is her best friend after that, but the meaning is implied. Regina thinks that means she is a better friend to Emma then Lily and Ruby put together; or that she’s placed higher on Emma’s friend ranking scale. She’s a little confused, and Henry isn’t that much help when she asks him carefully. He just tells her — “It’s like the friend you love the most, kinda. Ask Ma. She’ll explain it better.” When she asks Henry who his best friend is, she’s a little disappointed it’s neither her nor Emma; but he says it’s Grace, and then he blushes, and Regina asks about Nicholas. 

Looking at it logically, Regina is Emma’s best friend. They hangout more than she does with Ruby or Lily — but, perhaps that is because Miss Swan is consistently invading her house for dinner and video games. Emma greets her first at parties, if they don’t already arrive together; always grinning and offering to get her a drink, leading her to the empty chair beside her own. She then assumes the term is supposed to be mutual; and mentally thinks it over all day, distracting her from budget reports. 

Maleficent used to be a tiny bit more than Regina’s friend — not that anyone in this ridiculously small town could know that. But, now, she guesses the reformed Queen’s of Darkness are her friends. They go out for drinks sometimes, and she listens to them gossip, and sometimes Mal brings lunch to her office. But she would not consider Mal to be her best friend, because, when Henry tells her a best friend is also someone you’d pick over anyone else, she decides she would not pick Mal over Emma. 

She tries saying Henry can be her best friend, but he tells her that sons and daughters don’t count. She then, begrudgingly, picks Snow White. They’ve come a long way, and they have weekly Tuesday lunches — which, yeah, Regina rarely gets a lunch break alone these days — and Regina can admit to considering Snow family, and allowing her brief hugs. Henry tells her Snow White can’t be her best friend, and doesn’t elaborate on that. 

She considers Miss Lucas and Rumplestiltskin’s girlfriend to be sort of her friends, and people she turns to for help in the towns times of crisis, but she would probably pick Mal over them any day. 

That leaves Emma. The person constantly occupying her space and time — and Regina likes to have conversations with her ninety-six percent of the time. She enjoys their root beer and kale salad lunches, and their playful teasing banter, and how well they co-parent together. She and Emma have come a long way as well. 

She doesn’t tell anyone, not even Henry, that Emma Swan might be her best friend. She is a grown woman and does not need a best friend. 

+

Regina curses the fact that she is Emma’s best friend — but doesn’t think about how Emma could be hers. 

Apparently, being Emma’s best friend means she has to drive her to the dentist and home, because Snow White has an even bigger fear of dentists than apples, and Emma is going to be under heavy anesthesia for the remainder of the day. 

“Let’s hit up Granny’s for sundaes and binge watch Gilmore Girls,” Emma tries to talk her out of it during the ride over there. “My Mom will never know.” 

Regina rolls her eyes as she turns the wheel of her Mercedes, having refused to drive the monstrosity that is Emma’s yellow bug. “I did not take off work to ‘binge watch’ the ‘Gilmore Girls’ with you, Miss Swan.” Secretly, Regina isn’t too annoyed with their circumstances. She was dreading being stuck in her office today, focused on that damn budget report again. 

“Would you stop calling me that?” Emma huffs lightly, unbuckling her seatbelt the second the car is in park. “And you didn’t have to drive me. I could have asked Ruby.” 

“Yet your mother asked me,” Regina smirks. She follows Emma’s lead to step out of the car. Black heeled boots make contact with the pavement. She presses the lock button on her set of keys, apparently too quickly, causing Emma to remain standing there. “Am I going to have to drag you in?” 

“My phone,” Emma points through the rolled up window. Sure enough, she left the small device sitting on the seat, waiting to be stolen. 

Regina sighs, pressing the unlock button. “You couldn’t have stuffed it into your pocket as usual?” 

Emma hurries to open the door, swipe the phone into her pocket, and slam the door shut again. She huffs once more, turning toward Regina and facing the building. “Because it was such a sacrifice to press one little button.” 

“How many times do I have to tell you to refrain from slamming my car door?” Regina presses the lock button for the final time, silently swearing to fireball Emma right here in the parking lot if she says she forgot one more thing. Best friend or not, she will do it. 

“A thousand—” Her frustrated response stems from her anxiety at having to actually be at the dentist; but she is cut off by a slightly strangled sound being made by Regina, as the woman’s heel of her boot gets caught in a small patch of sand and rocks, resulting in her foot twisting the wrong way. 

True to her Savior duty, Emma’s arms fly out to catch Regina around her waist, preventing her from smacking into the pavement. Regina takes a moment to catch her breath, eyes fluttering shut momentarily, recovering from her near accident. Surely, her ankle would have been sprained had Emma not caught her. 

“You okay?” Emma’s voice sounds softer now. Regina keeps her eyes closed, laying half in Emma’s arms, feet firmly planted on the ground. She breathes steadily, nods slowly, and simply stays there until her heart slows down. Falling scares her. Probably more than dentists and apples put together scare Snow White. 

When she rights herself, standing straight and leaving Emma’s arms, she smiles tightly, though still grateful. “Thank you.” She glances toward the building. “Are you ready?” 

Emma nods quietly. Argument forgotten, Regina feels Emma’s hand slip into hers. Her thumb rubs circles over the back of her wrist, soothing her from what just happened. Regina remembers Emma’s earlier fears, and tightens her grip. She thinks it’s a best friend thing. 

+

Henry and Grace hold hands, too — Regina learns this through Emma’s rambling while she has morphine coursing through her veins. She practically falls into Regina’s passenger seat, leaving Regina to buckle her seatbelt, as she whines pitifully about her mouth hurting. 

“Yes, dear. It’s going to be a little sore. You just had two removed.” Regina had been shocked to learn Emma still had wisdom teeth, having never gotten them out; but she also understands that Emma had never stayed anywhere long enough to have them removed. “Don’t play with it.” She tells her gently, when she slides into her own seat in time to see Emma trying to poke at her gauze in her mouth. “Leave it be. We’ll get you some ice at home.” 

Home. It’s not really Emma’s home. Her home is the single lonely apartment she lives in, despite staying with her parents and at the mansion occasionally. Still, the word slips so easily from her tongue. 

“Ice cream!” Emma’s hazy brain demands. “Gina, I want ice cream!” 

Her words come out garbled and muffled, but Regina still hears them clearly. She’s about to shake her head, ignoring the demand, but Emma whines again, this time drawing tears to big green eyes, and Regina hates that she had to be Emma’s best friend to drag her to this place. “Please. . . R’gina. They took my teeth and my nose.” 

Regina sighs. “They didn’t take your nose, Miss Swan.” 

Taking that as a sign for winning the ice cream, Emma grins as wide as she can with the gauze in her mouth. “Thank-sh! You’re my best friend! Y’know that, R’gina?” 

Oh boy does Regina ever know. She’s beginning to get quite sick of this best friend talk. 

“Am I your best friend?” Emma doesn’t give her a chance to stammer out an answer. “Henry already has a best friend. Grace. They hold hands.” She raises her eyebrows as they stop at a red light, glancing to Regina as if it’s some big secret. She feigns a loud whisper. “I think he likes her!” 

Regina’s eyes widen at that. Emma laughs hysterically for a minute, as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever said; but Regina is in shock. Her sweet little prince has a crush? 

She doesn’t even get a chance to poke for more information. Emma is hopping onto a different train of thought. “I wanna be somebody’s best friend, R’gina.” 

She sounds sad, and Regina figures it’s her duty as Emma’s best friend to assure her and cheer her up. She swallows the nervous lump in her throat, praying Emma won’t remember this by tonight. 

“You’re my best friend, Emma.” 

+

Emma doesn’t remember. Regina is sure that if she did, she would brag and gloat about the admission. Thankfully, it is not brought up again. She gives Emma her promised ice cream and sends her to Snow White for the rest of the day. Emma thanks her over lunch for driving her and ‘putting up with her’ during the entire thing. 

( Consequently, Regina doesn’t bring up Emma’s admission to Henry. In her son’s own words, Grace could not be his best friend if she was to be her girlfriend. She doesn’t want to scare him into not openly talking with her; but she does keep a close eye on the two during their next study ‘date.’ ) 

The first time Regina feels her heart warm and truly considers the moment Emma Swan is admittedly her best friend; is two weeks after the dentist trip, when Emma drags her to girls night with a ragtag group. 

“This will be fun!” Emma tugs on her hand and pulls her through the crowd, toward a table with people Regina would not pick to have a girls night with on her own. She let Emma convince her to forgo the formal wear, allowing herself to be dressed in a black leather jacket so similar the blonde’s red one, and tight jeans. Heeled boots still cover her feet, but she works hard to not trip this time. 

‘Fun’ is not the word that comes to mind when she sees their ‘dates’ for the night. Ruby and Lily are arm in arm, both dressed straight out of a teen drama, and are downing a shot each. Beside them is Snow freaking White, Emma’s freaking mother, who is talking animatedly to Belle — though, both have an open beer in front of them, and both look a little flushed in the cheeks. 

She is hesitant. The music isn’t too loud. She can still hear perfectly fine; but combined with lights and their company and the drinks she will surely consume, she is bound to have a migraine in the days to come. Luckily, Henry is with David for the night. 

She stops walking, involuntarily tugging Emma’s hand back. Blonde curls whip around, concern taking over soft features as green eyes scan her face carefully. “What’s wrong?” 

Instead of voicing her concerns — “You invited your mother to girls night?” 

Emma can definitely hear the judgmental note in her voice; but, if she knows her well enough, she knows that Regina is deflecting. “Ruby made the guest list.” 

Regina’s brows go up. “She invited me?” It’s hard to believe when all Regina had ever felt was unwanted, even after these past few years of being shown she was loved. 

“You’re a fan-favorite,” Emma winks, tugging her closer as a line of people pass behind them toward the open bar. Regina regrets creating the Rabbit Hole in her making of this town. “C’mon. I’ll be right there the whole time.” 

Regina lets herself be lead over. Emma slows her pace, understanding Regina’s fears without either one having to mention them. They’re just that in sync; so, really, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that they are best friends. They’re co-parents and co-leaders, after all. 

Emma doesn’t sit down immediately. Ruby and Lily take a turn in throwing their arms around Emma’s neck, squealing; but Emma’s hand doesn’t leave Regina’s. Regina greets them all politely, before opting for the seat across from Belle. Lily calls one of the bartenders over, whistling and waving her hand enthusiastically. Emma takes the stool beside Regina, hands still interlocked, and orders for both of them. 

“Say the word and we’ll leave,” Emma nearly whispers in her ear, leaning over so that their shoulders touch. Regina nods, reaches up to tuck a dark strand of hair behind her ear. 

Emma smiles as she watches her. Regina’s long hair had never failed to amaze her. At the same time, Regina was enjoying this relatively new feelings of having Emma’s hand in hers constantly. She liked the closeness of it; because, as much as she hadn’t gotten close to many people in her past, she hadn’t had a true best friend before either. Robin wasn’t her best friend, and they rarely held hands. 

( Maybe Henry didn’t have a crush on Grace if they were holding hands as much as she and Emma were. Maybe it simply was a thing reserved for best friend — and married people, given Snow and David as example. ) 

“Regina, we’re so glad you came!” Snow smiles brightly, not fake, as soon as the drinks come. Emma’s hand slips out of hers momentarily to grab the two drinks from the man; and Regina will never admit that she panicked. Her eyes get drawn from Snow’s beaming face to Emma setting the drinks down on the table. A beer for herself, a margarita with a straw for Regina. 

The hand slips back into her own, and relief floods through Regina’s system. She squeezes tightly twice, ensuring they are joined together, and catches Emma’s smile when she turns her head.

( Emma knows. Emma understands. ) 

“I was a bit surprised when Emma told me about it, but it is a nice break from dinner at Granny’s,” Regina admits. Their joined hands rest between their stools, arms long and slightly swinging for anyone behind them to see. She covers up her anxiousness at being here easily. 

Emma is with her. Emma is by her side. 

\+ 

Emma slowly sips at two beers, and takes the chance to order Regina a second margarita and a bottle of water. All the while, her hand never slips. It stays firmly placed in Regina’s, reminding her of her partner. 

She enjoys a nice conversation with Belle and Snow. She expects Emma to wander off with Ruby and Lily to the dance floor at some point, but Emma never gives off any inclination that she wants to leave. 

Though, Ruby and Lily are completely wasted. They are continuously ordering their own steady stream of drinks, even going so far as to finish off Belle’s wine. 

When they arrive back at the table for the fifth time that night, they’re stumbling into each other closer than ever; and suddenly, they’re making out right in front of everybody. Ruby is practically attacking Lily’s mouth with her own, and Lily is leaning into it. Regina’s eyes widen — because she had no idea that Granny’s granddaughter and Maleficent’s daughter both preferred women, and were actually into each other. Emma did not share this bit of information with her. Regina doesn’t mind it, having had her own fair share of different genders of partners in the Enchanted Forest; however, it comes as a shock. 

She finds herself staring in surprise until they break away. Lily ducks behind Ruby, face flushing pink, as Ruby raises her head in the other direction. “Freaking creep!” She yells, and Regina finds it is directed toward the nearly bald, but young, man at the opposite end of the bar. He’s watching Lily intently, reminding Regina of a young Greg Mendel. “He was hitting on her on the dance floor,” Ruby explains, and she does not sound all that drunk anymore. 

Regina blinks in surprise, but Snow is the only one brave enough to ask. “Wait — so you’re not. . .” 

“Dating?” Ruby laughs, shaking her head. She wraps an arm around Lily’s waist, pulling her closer. Lily leans into the hug from behind, head coming to rest on Ruby’s shoulder. She sways slightly to the music, eyes closing momentarily. “I wish.” 

Regina watches as a smile falls upon Lily’s lips. She doesn’t think Ruby and Lily are just best friends. 

+

When she excuses herself to go order another drink, slipping her hand from Emma’s, former evil queen persona ready to come into play should anyone try to hit on her the way they did Lily; she isn’t surprised to find Emma has followed her. 

Before she even realizes the blonde is there, though, she leans over the bar counter, asking for one more margarita. She still had half a bottle of water, and had already previously decided three drinks would be her limit. 

“Hey, Madame Mayor.” She hears from beside her, and her nose wrinkles in disgust at the sound of the man’s voice alone. Neither his voice nor his face is familiar, but he is clearly drunk and flirtatious, and nearly as creepy as Lily’s creep. “Can I buy you a drink?” 

Rage and panic fill her entire being the moment his fingers land on the sleeve of her jacket, trailing upwards her shoulder. Her breath catches in her throat — and most certainly not in any good way. Her heart constricts against her chest. Breathing is just about to become a struggle, evil persona thrown out the window; when she feels another hand resting against her hip, an arm pulled around her waist. 

She jumps slightly, before realizing who it is. The blonde curls. The coconut perfume. The red leather jacket. Emma saves her. She pulls her impossibly close, forcing the man’s hand away, a tight smile adorning her lips. 

“Hey babe, I’ve been looking all over for you.” It’s the false note in Emma’s voice that only Regina and the people closest to the Savior can detect. Emma’s soft lips press against her cheek briefly in a kiss, and Regina has never felt more grateful to have Emma Swan as her best friend. Grateful that she is Emma Swan’s best friend. That Emma had managed to forgive her and accept her and protect her. 

The man looks drunkenly confused for a brief moment, before groaning and turning away. Regina’s thoughts and mind are plagued by old memories of her forced marriage with the king, horrid thoughts that she’d rather never think again. She wants to go home. She wants to go home with Henry and have a movie night. That’s what she wants more than anything right now. 

“You okay?” Emma murmurs above her head, leading them away. Regina doesn’t wait for her drink. She leans into Emma’s side, attempts to force back the building tears, and accepts the warm embrace once they’re tucked away into the space beside the restrooms. “He didn’t do anything else, right?” Regina nods against her shoulder, dark hair splaying across red leather. “Good. I would’ve fireballed him.” 

Regina gives a weak, watery laugh. A few tears slip from her eyes, down her cheeks. 

She feels Emma’s hand on her lower back now, rubbing soothing circles. Pulling her face away from her shoulder, she wipes her cheeks, shaking her head. “He touched me.”

She’s embarrassed and ashamed of the way she’s acting, of how she didn’t summon the Evil Queen inside her to get rid of the man. Despite the fact that she knows Emma understands, Emma will never judge her, Emma will never criticize her for being scared. 

She wants the leather jacket off now. He touched her arm. His touch is imprinted on this jacket. Now she would have to purchase a new leather jacket — because, if she’s being quite honest, she does quite like the way she looks in it. 

Emma seems to understand. Her best friend always does, and maybe that’s why she’s her best friend. 

She helps to pull it off from her shrugging shoulders, dropping it to the dirty floor. Regina doesn’t even care, because she will most certainly not wear it again. Though, goosebumps arrive on her bare arms, and she shivers at the chill in the bar. She’d expected to be hot and sweaty, but maybe it’s her nerves. 

“Here,” Emma shrugs out of her own jacket, revealing the white tee beneath it. Regina looks confused for a brief moment, before Emma is draping the red leather over her shoulders, and Regina is sliding her arms through. Emma’s jacket as that soft padding on the inside. Her jacket, untouched by the man, smells of coconut perfume and strawberry shampoo, and feels like Emma’s arms wrapped around her. 

“Thank you.” Emma didn’t have to do this. She didn’t have to rescue her and give her a jacket, too. She didn’t have to protect her. 

“That’s what best friends are for.” Emma smiles, and Regina remembers the way Ruby and Lily had kissed to throw the man off Lily’s case. Ruby was protecting Lily, as Emma was protecting her. So maybe Ruby was just Lily’s best friend — because Emma had kissed her cheek and called her ‘babe’ and pretended like they were dating to throw this man off of her case. 

Regina already feels the beginning of a small headache coming on. They leave shortly after that — nobody questions why Regina is wearing Emma’s jacket, or the fact that Emma keeps her hand pressed to her back until they reach the car. 

+

Best friends steal each other’s clothes. 

Regina learns this, and thinks it’s a tad bit ridiculous until she realizes she still has Emma’s jacket in her possession — the day Henry and Grace walk into the kitchen, and she is wearing Henry’s grey Nike hoodie, one Regina had bought him for last Christmas. 

“Hello, Madame Mayor,” Grace blushes, smiling nervously. Despite the amount of times Regina had assured her ‘Regina’ would be perfectly fine, Grace always greets her politely. She seems to catch Henry’s mother’s eyes staring at the hoodie, and instantly begins to apologize. “I’m sorry! I forgot my coat at home, and Henry didn’t want me to be cold! He said it wouldn’t be a big deal, but—”

“Because it’s not,” Henry cuts in, leading her toward the plate of cookies on the kitchen table. “It’s just a hoodie, Mom.” He looks to his mother, one hand still interlocked with Grace, before handing her a cookie. “You still have Ma’s. It’s a thing for best friends.” 

Grace blushes at that, too. It snaps Regina out of her staring, and her own cheeks flush at the fact that her son is aware of the red leather jacket hanging off the back of her chair. It’s been almost a week and a half, and Emma hasn’t yet asked for it back. 

“No,” Regina shakes her head, smiling warmly at her son’s kind best friend. “It’s not a problem at all. Friends share things.” 

+

The weather outside is growing slightly colder with this fall wind. It’s early October, but Granny and Ruby have already set up their annual apple cider and donut stand. The dwarves decorated the town’s empty grass park by the lake with a giant pumpkin, hanging a string of orange lights around it. 

Regina had been the one to suggest that Henry invite Grace to walk with them through the park that night, with Emma at their side. 

Grace has Henry’s hoodie on still, and they hold hands as they walk in front of Regina and Emma — who showed up in the most unlike-Emma thing Regina had ever seen her wear, especially in public; a long light grey pullover cardigan, which doesn’t match her jeans at all. 

As they join the town’s citizens to celebrate over warm apple cider and donuts, Regina notices Emma struggles to hold her paper cup with the long sleeves. Luckily, she is an expert in long sleeves. 

“Switch with me,” Regina says, setting down her cup. She takes Emma’s and sets it beside hers, before pulling her arms out of the red leather jacket. She does like it very much, but she knows Emma loves it, and she thinks she might like the cardigan even more. 

“What?” Emma furrows her brow. Regina is not one to dress too casually in public, but the cardigan will go lovely with the leggings she threw on to keep warm. 

“Switch with me,” Regina says again. “You obviously want your leather back, and I don’t mind trading.” 

She especially doesn’t mind how it still smells of coconut perfume and strawberry shampoo and all things Emma. It is soft and warm, and she feels just as safe as she did in the jacket. Maybe Grace likes the smell of Henry’s cologne, too? Or maybe wearing Henry’s hoodie makes her feel safe? 

Either way, Regina doesn’t intend to give this one back. She takes her apple cider in one hand, and walks close by to Emma — who burns her tongue on her hot drink and spills donut crumbs down her shirt, but Regina laughs anyway, and doesn’t leave her side. 

+

Best friends cook each other’s favorite meals. 

Henry runs in home from school on October seventeenth, claiming that he has to make seventeen cupcakes; because the eighteenth is Grace’s birthday, and she’s turning sixteen, which means she gets sixteen cupcakes, and he gets one. Regina wishes he would’ve said something earlier, but she finds that she has cupcake batter and frosting in the pantry — luckily, both vanilla, Grace’s favorite. 

She supervises as he bakes, taking extra precaution in frosting the cupcakes and measuring out the ingredients. Regina’s heart warms with how kind her son is; though, when she questions why he didn’t just buy Grace a birthday gift at the store — Henry tells her that “homemade gifts are better than store bought, and Grace likes cupcakes, and best friends bake things for each other.” 

Regina cooks dinner most nights, and Emma joins them for dinner at least twice a week at the mansion, excluding Granny’s; but Regina doesn’t think she’s gone out of her way to bake something for Emma since the apple turnover incident. She shudders at that, forces herself to not think about it, and begins baking Emma a batch of brownies the day of Grace’s birthday. It’s on a Saturday, and she drops Henry off at the place the party will be held, and promises to bring by a properly wrapped gift later. 

She adds chocolate chips and caramel syrup to the brownies, and decides to bring them to Emma’s apartment. She knows it’s her day off, and is aware that Emma would probably be at Grace’s party with a gift, too; because no one in this town can stray from a party. But these brownies are for Emma. 

Emma wanted so badly to be somebody’s best friend — that’s what she said in the car after the dentist. Regina had said it to make her happy, and to come to a mutual agreement, but she had found Emma Swan really was her best friend. 

“Regina!” Emma looks surprised to see her, swinging the door open to reveal she is still laying around in her sweatpants, despite it being almost one o’clock. “What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at Grace’s party?” 

“We are,” Regina nods, and she suddenly feels a bit weird about everything now. Maybe Henry was wrong. Maybe best friends didn’t bake for each other. “I just. . . I made these for you. I didn’t know if you wanted them.” 

She knows how lame she sounds; but Emma’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. She reaches for the brownies, leaving the door open for Regina to step in and close behind her. “You made these just for me?” Emma questions, but she has a half one stuffed into her mouth already.

“Yes,” Regina nods again. That’s what best friends do. 

+

Best friends apparently kiss each other on the forehead. 

Regina does not bring this up to Henry; and she has enough intelligence to know that kissing on the forehead could mean something else, but she also doesn’t want to miss a cue in her and Emma’s best-friendship, and she wants to be a good best friend. 

So she doesn’t mention it when she peers through the window to see if Henry will be returning home yet; only to see her son standing on his tip toes, pressing a kiss to Grace’s forehead. 

Grace smiles and blushes, and hugs him tight, before practically skipping down the stairs. She ‘poofs’ — a word she curses her best friend for using — into her kitchen before Henry can see anything. 

She takes the initiative to kiss Emma’s forehead — or, well, she tries to. Once movie nights is over, and Henry is climbing upstairs to crawl into bed, and Emma is shrugging her jacket on whilst sitting on the couch. 

Regina has planned to kiss Emma’s forehead — the way best friends apparently do; but, as she leans down suspiciously, Emma turns to the side, brows furrowed, and Regina’s lips land on her temple. 

It’s close enough; though, now the Regina is actually completing the action, she’s realizing how much of an idiot she had been. 

Best friends don’t kiss — except in Ruby and Lily’s circumstances. 

Lovers kiss. Girlfriends kiss. Boyfriends kiss. Domestic partners kiss. Husbands and wives kiss. 

She stands up straight, feeling her cheeks warm with her embarrassed blush. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I didn’t mean to—”

Emma smiles. Sweet and soft, and Regina might like her in more than a best friend way. “It’s okay, Regina. I get it — really, I do.” 

Regina is going to ground Henry if he’s been playing matchmaker, lying to her this whole time about what best friends really do. 

“Henry kissed Grace, and he said best friends bake for each other — and you gave me your jacket — and I just. . .” She trails off, having never felt so flustered in her entire life. She’d been a fool to think she and Emma were simply just best friends or anything less than what they truly were. 

“We’re best friends,” Emma grins — but it’s playful and teasing, and she pulls Regina by her hips to sit on her lap, facing her. Regina lets out a yelp of surprise, being this close and intimate with Emma was simply amazing. 

She feels the soft lips that once kissed her cheek fall upon her own lips. It’d been awhile since she kissed a woman — kissed anyone, really — but she finds herself snapping out of the stunned phase quicker than expected. 

They’re more than best friends now.

**Author's Note:**

> notes — the scene in the parking lot is literally them having a married couple argument; and then emma always catching regina when she falls. 
> 
> i may have overdone it on the ‘high’ emma, but i needed gina to admit it.
> 
> i just want a girls night where swan queen is very married and domestic and fluffy and in love, okay? 
> 
> ruby and lily have my whole heart after this <3 
> 
> the parallels between sq and grace / henry :)
> 
> regina loves the smell of simple emma, and emma finds it totally adorable that regina wears her clothes. 
> 
> henry staying up all night to make sixteen cupcakes for grace just wouldn’t leave my mind. he is a gentleman through and through. but he doesn’t wanna admit to regina that he like likes grace. 
> 
> emma ate every single brownie and refused to let anyone else have one. she brought them to the party ( which jefferson proudly hosted bc he’s a proud dad ) and snow asked to have one; and emma totally spoke through chipmunk cheeks stuffed with brownies and caramel — “gina made them for me.” 
> 
> every party in storybrooke isn’t just a family party — it’s a town party! 
> 
> yeah... the ending is a bit cheesy, but like, swan queen is in love and doesn’t know how to express feelings <3 
> 
> thank you for reading! feel free to request swan queen fluff!


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